This disclosure relates generally to pencil sharpeners. More particularly, this disclosure relates to pencil sharpeners having an electrically powered rotary cutting assembly which is automatically activated for commencing sharpening.
In pencil sharpeners to which the present disclosure relates, such as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/451,753 filed Jun. 12, 2006 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the end of a pencil to be sharpened is inserted into an opening disposed through an upper housing surface. A rotary cutting assembly is automatically activated to sharpen the pencil, and upon completion of the sharpening, the cutting assembly is deactivated. In some instances, the cutting assembly is reversed for partially expelling the sharpened point from the cutting assembly. The shavings may be typically directed outwardly from the side of the cutting assembly, wherein they are collected in an annular receptacle which may be vertically removed for emptying the shavings.